Editing Mousebird

{{Short description|Order of birds}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|name = Mousebirds
|fossil_range =<br>[[Paleocene]] - [[Holocene]], {{fossilrange|62.5|0|ref=<ref name=Ksepka>{{Cite journal|author1=Daniel T. Ksepka |author2=Thomas A. Stidham |author3=Thomas E. Williamson |year=2017 |title=Early Paleocene landbird supports rapid phylogenetic and morphological diversification of crown birds after the K–Pg mass extinction |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=114 |issue=30 |pages=8047–8052 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1700188114 |pmid=28696285 |pmc=5544281 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114.8047K |doi-access=free }}</ref>}}
|image = Urocolius macrourus-20090110B.jpg
|image_caption = [[Blue-naped mousebird]] (''Urocolius macrourus'')
|display_parents = 2
|parent_authority = [[James Murie|Murie]], 1872
|taxon = Coliidae
|authority = [[William Swainson|Swainson]], 1837
|subdivision_ranks = [[Genera]]
|subdivision =
''[[Colius]]''<br>
''[[Urocolius]]''<br>
For fossil [[taxa]], see [[#Systematics and evolution|text]].
}}

The '''mousebirds''' are [[bird]]s in the [[Order (biology)|order]] '''Coliiformes'''.  They are the sister group to the [[clade]] [[Cavitaves]], which includes the [[Leptosomiformes]] (the [[cuckoo roller]]), [[Trogoniformes]] ([[trogons]]), [[Bucerotiformes]] ([[hornbills]] and [[hoopoes]]), [[Piciformes]] ([[woodpeckers]], [[toucans]], and [[Ramphastides|barbets]]) and [[Coraciiformes]] ([[kingfishers]], [[bee-eaters]], [[Coraciidae|rollers]], [[motmot]]s, and [[todies]]).<ref name=Jarvis2014>
{{cite journal|last1=Jarvis|first1=E. D. |last2=Mirarab |first2=S.|last3=Aberer|first3=A. J.|title=Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds|journal=Science|date=2014|volume=346|issue=6215|pages=1320–1331 |doi=10.1126/science.1253451 |url= |display-authors=etal |pmid=25504713 |pmc=4405904|bibcode=2014Sci...346.1320J }}
</ref> This group is now confined to sub-Saharan [[Africa]], and it is the only bird order confined entirely to that continent, with the possible exception of [[Turaco|turacos]] which are considered by some as the distinct order [[Musophagiformes]], and the [[cuckoo roller]], which is the only member of the order Leptosomiformes, and which is found in [[Madagascar]] but not mainland Africa. Mousebirds had a wider range in the [[Paleogene]], with a widespread distribution in [[Europe]] and [[North America]] during the [[Paleocene]].<ref name="Tsidiiyazhi">
{{cite journal | last1 = Ksepka | first1 = D.T. | last2 = Stidham | first2 = T.A. | last3 = Williamson | first3 = T.E. | title = Early Paleocene landbird supports rapid phylogenetic and morphological diversification of crown birds after the K–Pg mass extinction | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 114 | issue = 30 | pages = 8047–8052 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1700188114 | pmid = 28696285 | year = 2017 | pmc = 5544281 | bibcode = 2017PNAS..114.8047K | doi-access = free }}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00814.x|title = The Fossil Record and Evolution of Mousebirds (Aves: Coliiformes)|year = 2008|last1 = Zelenkov|first1 = Nikita V.|last2 = Dyke|first2 = Gareth J.|journal = Palaeontology|volume = 51|issue = 6|pages = 1403–1418| bibcode=2008Palgy..51.1403Z |doi-access = free}}
</ref>

==Description==
Mousebirds are slender greyish or brown birds with soft, hairlike body [[feathers]]. They are typically about {{convert|10|cm|abbr=on}} in body length, with a long, thin tail a further {{convert|20|-|24|cm|abbr=on}} in length, and weigh {{convert|45|-|55|g|abbr=on}}.<ref name=EoB>{{cite book |editor=Forshaw, Joseph|author=Cunningham-Van Someren, G.R.|year=1991|title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher=Merehurst Press|location=London|pages=138–139|isbn=978-1-85391-186-6}}</ref> They are arboreal and scurry through the leaves like [[rodent]]s, in search of berries, fruit and buds. This habit, and their legs, gives rise to the group's [[English language|English]] name. They are acrobatic, and can feed upside down. All species have strong claws and reversible outer toes ([[Dactyly#Pamprodactyly|pamprodactyl]] feet). They also have [[Crest (feathers)|crests]] and stubby bills.

==Behaviour and ecology==
Mousebirds are gregarious, again reinforcing the analogy with [[mouse|mice]], and are found in bands of about 20 in lightly wooded country. These birds build cup-shaped twig nests in trees, which are lined with grasses. Clutches of two to three eggs are typically laid.<ref>Winkler, D. W., S. M. Billerman, and I.J. Lovette (2020). Mousebirds (Coliidae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.coliid1.01</ref>

==Systematics and evolution==
The mousebirds could be considered "[[living fossil]]s" as the six species extant today are merely the survivors of a lineage that was massively more diverse in the early [[Paleogene]] and [[Miocene]]. There are comparatively abundant fossils of Coliiformes, but it has not been easy to assemble a robust [[phylogeny]]. The family is documented to exist from the Early [[Paleocene]] onwards; by at least the Late [[Eocene]], two families are known to have existed, the extant '''Coliidae''' and the longer-billed prehistorically [[extinct]] [[Sandcoleidae]].<ref name="Tsidiiyazhi"/>

The latter were previously a separate order,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Houde | first1 = Peter | author-link2 = Storrs Olson | last2 = Olson | first2 = Storrs L. | year = 1992 | title = A radiation of coly-like birds from the Eocene of North America (Aves: Sandcoleiformes, new order) | url = http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/houde/sandcoleidae.pdf | journal = Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Science Series | volume = 36 | pages = 137–160 | access-date = 2006-09-05 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060905091812/http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/houde/sandcoleidae.pdf | archive-date = 2006-09-05 | url-status = dead }}</ref> but eventually it was realized that they had come to group ancestral [[Coraciiformes]], the actual sandcoleids and forms like ''[[Neanis]]'' together in a [[paraphyletic]] assemblage. Even though the sandcoleids are now assumed to be monophyletic following the removal of these taxa, many forms cannot be conclusively assigned to one family or the other.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mayr | first1 = Gerald | last2 = Mourer-Chauviré | first2 = Cécile | year = 1999 | title = Unusual tarsometatarsus of a mousebird from the Paleogene of France and the relationships of ''Selmes'' Peters, 1999 | url = http://www.senckenberg.de/files/content/forschung/abteilung/terrzool/ornithologie/jvpcoliiformes.pdf | journal = [[Society of Vertebrate Paleontology|J. Vertebr. Paleontol.]] | volume = 24 | issue = 2| pages = 366–372 | doi = 10.1671/1970 | s2cid = 59146377 }}</ref> The genus ''[[Selmes]]'', for example, is probably a coliid, but only distantly related to the modern genera.<ref>It has a peculiar foot [[Morphology (biology)|morphology]] not found in any other bird, with very stubby toes. The [[specific name (zoology)|specific name]] ''absurdipes'' ("absurd foot") refers to this. The genus name is an [[anagram]] of "[[Messel pit|Messel]]", where it was first found.</ref>

Extinct Coliiformes occupied a wide range of ecologies. [[Sandcoleids]] in particular often preserve uncrushed seeds on their stomachs, while bearing talons similar to those of modern [[birds of prey]].<ref>Mayr, G. 2018. New data on the anatomy and palaeobiology of sandcoleid mousebirds (Aves, Coliiformes) from the early Eocene of Messel. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments 98: 639–651. doi: 10.1007/s12549-018-0328-1</ref>

==Taxonomy==
'''Order COLIIFORMES'''<ref name="mikko">Mikko's Phylogeny Archive [http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/] {{cite web |last=Haaramo |first=Mikko |year=2007 |title=COLIIFORMES – mousebirds |url=https://www.mv.helsinki.fi/home/mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/archosauria/aves/coliiformes.html |access-date=19 November 2020}}</ref><ref>[[Paleofile.com]] [http://www.paleofile.com/]. {{cite web |title=Aves |url=http://www.paleofile.com/ |access-date=30 December 2015}}</ref>
* Genus †''[[Botauroides]]'' <small>Shufeldt 1915</small> (Eocene of Wyoming, US)
** †''B. parvus'' <small>Shufeldt 1915</small>
* Genus †''[[Eobucco]]'' <small>Feduccia & Martin 1976</small> - sandcoleid?
** †''E. brodkorbi'' <small>Feduccia & Martin 1976</small>
* Genus †''[[Eocolius]]'' <small>Dyke & Waterhouse 2001</small> (London Clay Early Eocene of Walton-on-the-Naze, England) - sandcoleid or coliid<!-- JOrnithol142:7. -->
** †''E. walkeri'' <small>Dyke & Waterhouse 2001</small>
* Genus †''[[Limnatornis]]'' <small>Milne-Edwards 1871</small> [''Palaeopicus'' <small>Lambrecht 1933 ex Brodkorb 1952</small>] (Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, France) - coliid? (''Urocolius''?) <!-- Geobios2:157 -->
** †''[[Limnatornis consobrinus|L. consobrinus]]'' <small>(Milne-Edwards 1871)</small> [''Picus consobrinus'' <small>Milne-Edwards 1871</small>; ''Palaeopicus consobrinus'' <small>(Milne-Edwards 1871) Lambrecht 1933 nomen nudum</small>; ''Urocolius consobrinus'' <small>(Milne-Edwards 1871)</small>]
** †''[[Limnatornis paludicola|L. paludicola]]'' <small>Milne-Edwards 1871</small> [''Colius paludicola'' <small>(Milne-Edwards 1871) Ballmann 1969a</small>; ''Urocolius paludicola'' <small>(Milne-Edwards 1871)</small>]
** †''[[Limnatornis archiaci|L. archiaci]]'' <small>(Milne-Edwards 1871)</small> [''Picus archiaci'' <small>Milne-Edwards 1871</small>; ''Colius archiaci'' <small>(Milne-Edwards 1871) Ballmann 1969a</small>; ''Urocolius archiaci'' <small>(Milne-Edwards 1871) Mlíkovský 2002</small>] (Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, France) <!-- Geobios2:157 -->
* Coliiformes gen. et sp. indet. (Late Miocene of Kohfidisch, Austria)<ref>Similar to ''Urocolius'' and ''Limnatornis'' (if distinct): Mlíkovský (2002)</ref>
* Genus †''[[Uintornis]]'' <small>Marsh 1872</small> - sandcoleid?<!-- AmMusNovit2400. -->
** †''[[Uintornis lucaris|U. lucaris]]'' <small>Brodkorb 1971</small>
** †''[[Uintornis marionae|U. marionae]]'' <small>Feduccia & Martin 1976</small>
* '''Family †[[Chascacocoliidae]]''' <small>Zelenkov & Dyke 2008</small>
** Genus †''[[Chascacocolius]]'' <small>Houde & Olson 1992</small> (Late Paleocene ?- Early Eocene) - basal? sandcoleid?<!-- BullGeolSocDK51:47. OrgDiversEvol5:167. ZoolJLinnSoc128:149. -->
*** †''[[Chascacocolius oscitans|C. oscitans]]'' <small>Houde & Olson 1992</small>
*** †''[[Chascacocolius cacicirostris|C. cacicirostris]]'' <small>Mayr 2005</small>
* '''Family †[[Selmeidae]]''' <small>Zelenkov & Dyke 2008</small>
** Genus †''[[Selmes]]'' <small>Mayr 1998 ex Peters 1999</small> (Middle Eocene ?-Late Oligocene of C Europe) - coliid? (synonym of ''Primocolius''?)
*** †''S. absurdipes'' <small>Mayr 1998 ex Peters 1999</small>
* '''Family †[[Sandcoleidae]]''' <small>Houde & Olson 1992 sensu Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré 2004</small>
** Genus †''[[Sandcoleus]]'' <small>Houde & Olson 1992</small> (Paleocene) <!-- CanJEarthSci39:19. ZoolJLinnSoc128:149. -->
*** †''S. copiosus'' <small>Houde & Olson 1992</small>
** Genus †''[[Anneavis]]'' <small>Houde & Olson 1992</small> <!-- ZoolJLinnSoc128:149. -->
*** †''A. anneae'' <small>Houde & Olson 1992</small>
** Genus †''[[Eoglaucidium]]'' <small>Fischer 1987</small> <!-- Palaeontology37:339. -->
*** †''E. pallas'' <small>Fischer 1987</small>
** Genus †''[[Tsidiiyazhi]]'' <small>Ksepka, Stidham & Williamson 2017</small> (Paleocene of New Mexico)
*** †''T. abini'' <small>Ksepka, Stidham & Williamson 2017</small>
* '''Family [[Coliidae]]''' <small>Swainson 1837 sensu Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré 2004</small>
** Genus †''[[Celericolius]]'' <small>Ksepka & Clarke 2010</small>
*** †''C. acriala'' <small>Ksepka & Clarke 2010</small>
** Genus †''[[Masillacolius]]'' <small>Mayr & Peters 1998</small> (middle Eocene of Messel, Germany)
*** †''M. brevidactylus'' <small>Mayr & Peters 1998</small>
** Genus †''[[Oligocolius]]'' <small>Mayr 2000</small> (Early Oligocene of Frauenweiler, Germany)<!-- JOrnithol141:85. -->
*** †''O. brevitarsus'' <small>Mayr 2000</small>
*** †''O. psittacocephalon'' <small>Mayr 2013</small>
** Genus †''[[Palaeospiza]]'' <small>Allen 1878</small>
*** †''Palaeospiza bella'' <small>Allen 1878</small>
** Genus †''[[Primocolius]]'' <small>Mourer-Chauviré 1988</small> (Late Eocene/Oligocene of Quercy, France)
*** †''[[Primocolius sigei|P. sigei]]'' <small>Mourer-Chauviré 1988</small>
*** †''[[Primocolius minor|P. minor]]'' <small>Mourer-Chauviré 1988</small>
** '''Subfamily Coliinae'''
*** Genus ''[[Urocolius]]'' (2 species)
**** ''[[Urocolius indicus|U. indicus]]'' <small>(Latham 1790)</small> (Red-faced mousebird)
**** ''[[Urocolius macrourus|U. macrourus]]'' <small>(Linnaeus 1766)</small> (Blue-naped mousebird)
*** Genus ''[[Colius]]'' [''Necrornis'' <small>Milne-Edwards 1871</small>] (4 species)
**** †''[[Colius hendeyi|C. hendeyi]]'' <small>Vickers-Rich & Haarhoff 1985</small>
**** †''[[Colius palustris|C. palustris]]'' <small>(Milne-Edwards 1871) Ballmann 1969</small> [''[[Necrornis palustris]]'' <small>Milne-Edwards 1871</small>]<ref>Peter Ballmann (1969): Les oiseaux miocènes de La Grive-Saint-Alban (Isère). – Géobios 2: p 157–204.</ref><ref>Storrs Olson (1985): The Fossil Record of Birds In: Avian Biology, No. 8: p. 79–238</ref> 
**** ''[[Colius castanotus|C. castanotus]]'' <small>Verreaux & Verreaux 1855</small> (Red-backed mousebird)
**** ''[[Colius colius|C. colius]]'' <small>(Linnaeus 1766)</small> (White-backed mousebird)
**** ''[[Colius leucocephalus|C. leucocephalus]]'' <small>Reichenow 1879</small> (White-headed mousebird)
**** ''[[Colius striatus|C. striatus]]'' <small>Gmelin 1789</small> (Speckled mousebird)

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite journal | last1 = Hackett | first1 = S. | display-authors = etal   | year = 2008 | title = A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History | journal = Science | volume = 320 | issue = 5884| pages = 1763–1768 | doi=10.1126/science.1157704 | pmid=18583609| bibcode = 2008Sci...320.1763H | s2cid = 6472805 }}

* McCormack, J.E. ''et al.'' (2012) [https://arxiv.org/abs/1210.1604 A phylogeny of birds based on over 1,500 loci collected by target enrichment and high-throughput sequencing]. 

* Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): ''Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe''. Ninox Press, Prague. <small>{{Listed Invalid ISBN|80-901105-3-8}}</small> [https://web.archive.org/web/20110520101755/http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf PDF fulltext]<!-- This should be treated with extreme caution as regards merging of species. Splits are usually good though. See also critical review in Auk121:623-627 here http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3793/is_200404/ai_n9396879 -->

==External links==
*[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/mousebirds-coliidae Mousebird videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
*[http://www.pbase.com/collinbaxter/image/85689482 Picture of a mousebird] atop a tree

{{Mousebirds}}
{{Birds}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q180691}}

[[Category:Coliiformes| ]]
[[Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa]]
[[Category:Extant Danian first appearances]]